This election season our 44 campaign workers, better known as the “Daily Team”, are knocking on doors and calling up thousands of voters EVERY DAY to engage folks around important ballot propositions and measures. Behind this powerhouse team are a group of emerging leaders who provide amazing leadership, training, and support.
Meet our Team Leaders:
Jon Bean
“FamUnity” – turn your family into your community and your community into your family. Jon brings this ideology to our outreach work, connecting the need to relate to people as individuals and showing how we can use our collective power and connectivity to lift each other up.
Jon stepped into leadership in his community in Alabama at the age of 15 when he became the chapter President of the local youth NAACP. Moving to Oakland in 2000, he worked as a re-entry social services coach for formerly incarcerated people. He rejoined the world of community organizing with Causa Justa::Just Cause’s (CJJC) campaign supporting Obamacare, and went on to become their Oakland Housing Rights Organizer and Outreach Team Leader. Jon loves outreach and interacting with the community face-to-face, and particularly enjoys when staff are also from the communities which his work impacts and serves. After working at CJJC, Jon came to Oakland Rising where he has worked on several campaigns and now is serving as Team Leader for his third campaign with us.
Jon is a 2014 graduate of BOLD – Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, and is a proud husband and father of 5 kids.
Isaiah Toney
Politics have been a part of Isaiah’s life since day one. He grew up here in Oakland with his parents taking him to political events and then became an organizer after graduating from college in D.C. Returning to the Bay, he went to work at Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) as the Transit Organizer with the bus riders’ union.
Isaiah’s involvement in electoral politics runs deep, so when choosing where to work next, Oakland Rising caught his attention because of our model of civic engagement with outreach team members from the neighborhoods we work in and our innovative collaborative structure. Isaiah leads our Daily Team members on phone outreach, and has learned a lot about data management and other behind-the-scenes technical aspects of running a campaign.
An educator at heart, Isaiah enjoys training and passing on new skills. He plans to keep fighting for justice in Oakland after this campaign.
Dominique Gipson
Now working her 12th campaign with Oakland Rising, this is the first time that Dominique is serving as Assistant Team Leader. This new role means a lot to her – she feels that people see her as someone who is gifted enough to make a difference in her city, and that people trust in her leadership ability. Dominique grew up in Oakland and became politicized in high school when she formed the Rainbow Click, an all women of color social justice group fighting against homophobia. She envisions a world where all people of color stand up for what they believe in and don’t allow society to define their worth. Dominique loves working at Oakland Rising since it gives her a vehicle to fight against injustices. In fact, she has brought Oakland Rising to her family –Dominique registered her dad, Eric, to vote and recruited him to work at Oakland Rising, and also recruited her grandfather to volunteer with us.
Outside of work, Dominique pursues her goals as a singer and entertainer, and links her singing to her political activism.
Oakland Rising and our collaborative partners are united in our vision for a city that embodies health, happiness, safety, and equal opportunities for all. Our goal is to create a model of progress and sustainability that showcases the possibilities for American cities in the 21st century. We are committed to dismantling the barriers of racial, economic, political, environmental, and educational inequities that have divided us, and instead, embracing the collective strength found in our city’s diversity. We firmly believe that Oakland can achieve its full potential when every resident, student, and bus rider has the ability to shape our city’s future. This vision is attainable and we are determined to realize it through our collective actions, whether it’s through voting, meetings, or call to actions.
Every year, we release a Vision, Issues, and Policy Platform (VIPP) which outlines the annual policies that we and our eight partner organizations prioritize in order to advance racial, economic, and environmental justice in the Town. Our collaborative’s agenda encompasses a range of critical initiatives, from expanding affordable housing to creating a more equitable democracy through campaign finance reforms. These priorities are designed to provide vital protections and innovative solutions for the most vulnerable members of our community. As we continue our efforts to promote these policies, we hold conversations with thousands of voters, lead and co-host impactful town hall meetings, educate and mobilize residents and voters, and undertake various other initiatives.
To gain a deeper understanding of our commitment to resist, protect, and advance in this political moment, we invite you to explore our 2023 Vision, Issues, and Policy Platform. Together, we are making strides towards a more equitable and just Oakland, and we remain steadfast in our pursuit of change, one vote, one meeting, one march at a time.
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